10/08/2012

Does He Kiss His Mother With That Mouth?

I have said it before, and I still believe, Gun people are just the
nicest folks! At first this discovery caught me by surprise, but I
have now become comfortable in this knowledge. Maybe that’s why
today’s events shook me so deeply. I consider my vocabulary solid and
relatively extensive. I was raised to speak properly and with correct
grammar. Though I know how to act in polite company, I am not one to
gasp and clutch my pearls at a random cuss word among friends. I
confess that until today, I never understood the outrage I have heard
from women, over the term “C*nt”. As far as I could tell, it was just
another “dirty” word to add to the pile. I gained a new understanding
today, and I’d like to share.

As I was out shooting today, I happened to find myself within earshot of
two men, who were talking about me. They didn’t know I was nearby and
I did not linger in a transgression of eavesdropping, but I overheard
one say to the other, “…she’s a F*cking C*nt.” Stunned, I walked
away. In my wildest dreams, I can not imagine what I could have done
to this guy, to enrage him to this extremity. Further, I am
dumbstruck at the idea that I could unwittingly act in a way that
deserved such a response. (I am willing to admit to acts that could
be called “a little b*tchy”. These are usually performed out of anger
or spite. It’s not pretty, but it’s rare, and I don’t consider myself
any sort of angel.)

I’m sure each person finds the fore-mentioned dirty word distasteful
for different reasons. From my experience I feel that it was a
combination of the setting in which it was said, and speaker’s
my-penis-makes-me-better-than-you attitude. For some reason, I
believe I would have been less upset, if the term had been levied at
me, in person, rather than in closeted whispers.

I am not willing to stoop to the level that is likely necessary in
order to understand my detractor’s opinions. I prefer to use this
episode as a cautionary tale to those who, like me and my ventures
toward firearm enlightenment, may tread into areas that can be,
occasionally, unwelcoming.

As excited as we are about our new hobby, not everyone will always be
thrilled to see us at the range. They won’t like it when we place
high in a competition, or bring home an impressive trophy from a hunt.
They won’t even appreciate that woman are growing the shooting sports
exponentially, to the benefit of all who enjoy them. This ugliness is
an unfortunate side affect of progress. Some people just can’t handle
change, but as far as I can tell, they’re sh*t-out-of-luck!

And to the guys who feel that we ladies are invading your turf, I have only one response; there's room for all of us in the shooting world, but you may need to step it up.

3 comments:

Hi Gabby, first off, it was lovely to finally meet you Saturday at SSGC. I was crushed for you to read that they had said that. I have always felt that using that word projected at someone even without them knowing was pretty much the jugular shot. I've noticed a lot more female shooters stepping it up so I can only imagine they they felt threatened by your presence and knowledge.

In any case, keep doing what your doing, look forward to catching you sometime at the range, and I'll be sure to refer to you as "angel" :)

I just read about this post onRebeccaGuns page. It is absolutely amazing how nice most men are in the shooting world - gun stores, gun shows, various ranges. They are usually surprised to find a lady who is as hungry as I am to learn and discuss everything I can about firearms - with a HUGE desire to learn and become very good at this sport. Every now and then, you find one of these folks like you found that day. The best guess I have is they are intimidated by you and are not quite as gifted as you with their vocabulary, therefore they can't quite communicate what they are actually feeling. He likely thought his buddy would find him funny. It was a major defense mechanism. It is too bad, he might learn something from you if he took time to respect your presence. Your last line is classic, "There is room for all of us in the shooting world, but you might have to step it up." You rock!